Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated that recent rumors linking Max Verstappen to Mercedes have irritated the four-time world champion during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed his interest in Verstappen on Friday but later noted on Saturday that the likelihood of attracting the Red Bull driver away was “very low.”
Wolff clarified that any possibility of Verstappen joining would be a “long-term” prospect, given Verstappen`s current contract with Red Bull runs until 2028.
This speculation gained traction in the Red Bull Ring paddock after Mercedes driver George Russell mentioned his own contract extension discussions were paused due to his team`s focus on Verstappen.
Horner downplayed the rumors after Saturday`s qualifying session in Austria, where Verstappen managed only the seventh fastest time.
“It`s a lot of noise,” Horner told Sky Sports. “I think Max gets quite annoyed by it. We`re very clear with the contract that we have with Max until 2028. Anything is entirely speculative that is being said. We tend not to pay too much attention to it. I can imagine that George is frustrated he hasn`t been given a contract yet. But that`s between him and his team. The situation with Max, we know clearly where we`re at and as does Max. Everything is subject to noise and with any contract it remains confidential between the parties.”
Verstappen qualified seventh for Sunday`s Austrian Grand Prix. He had to abandon his quickest lap in the final sector due to yellow flags caused by a spin from Pierre Gasly.
Verstappen, currently third in the drivers` standings and 43 points behind leader Oscar Piastri, commented that his car wasn`t performing well enough to challenge Lando Norris for pole position on Saturday.
“It would have been close, potentially, up until the yellow flag — but it`s still miles off pole,” Verstappen said. “In the end, it`s not really that painful. FP3 wasn`t too bad but somehow in quali it just completely disappeared. There was not a single corner I felt happy in the car and then that is of course a big problem in qualifying. Depends how you look at it … I don`t really look at the standings, I just try to do the best I can in the race weekend. Hopefully tomorrow we can at least be competitive with Ferrari, or Mercedes, but I don`t know because with the balance I had in quali that is not going to look great tomorrow. We`ll analyse everything.”
